Some writers have argued there is rising acceptance of anti-Semitism within the anti-globalization movement. Most of the movement's supporters counter that allegations of anti-Semitism are unfounded or exaggerated, and aim to discredit potentially legitimate criticisms of Israeli government policies and U.S. policies in the Middle East. Most people involved with the anti-globalization movement claim that they oppose all forms of bigotry including anti-Semitism.
Concern within the political left
One of the leaders of the anti-globalization movement, the Canadian writer and activist Naomi Klein, wrote in a 2002 article of her concern in finding antisemitic rhetoric on some activist websites that she had visted. [1]. She wrote: "I couldn’t help thinking about all the recent events I’ve been to where anti-Muslim violence was rightly condemned, but no mention was made of attacks on Jewish synagogues, cemeteries and community centers."
Klein used the article to urge activists to confront anti-Semitism as part of their work for social justice. She also stresses that allegations of anti-Semitism are often politically motivated, and that to defeat these accusations, activists should avoid political simplifications that could be perceived as anti-Semitic:
- The globalization movement isn't anti-Semitic, it just hasn't fully confronted the implications of diving into the Middle East conflict. Most people on the left are simply choosing sides. In the Middle East, where one side is under occupation and the other has the U.S. military behind it, the choice seems clear. But it is possible to criticize Israel while forcefully condemning the rise of anti-Semitism. And it is equally possible to be pro-Palestinian independence without adopting a simplistic pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel dichotomy, a mirror image of the good-versus-evil equations so beloved by President George W. Bush. [2]
In early 2004, Kalle Lasn - author of "Culture Jam" and founder of Adbusters, two influential and widely read anti-globalization texts - generated further controversy when he penned an an editoral entitled "Why Won't Anyone Say They are Jewish?." The editorial suggests that Jewish people represent a disproportionately-high percentage of the neo-conservatives who control American foreign policy, and that this may affect policy with respect to Israeli [3]. Although it should be noted that the majority of Jewish Americans vote Democrat, Lasn claims that Jewish neo-conservatives maintain strong links with Ariel Sharon's right-wing Likud party. Aside from these claims, many people were most offended by Lasn's inclusion of a list of Jewish neo-conservatives, with dots next to their names.
In October 2004 the New Internationalist magazine published a special issue looking at how antisemitic rhetoric was being inserted into some progressive debates and needed to be opposed; but also discussed how the charge of antisemitism was often used unfairly to stigmatize critics of Israeli policies. Lasn used this latter argument to defend his comments about Jewish neo-conservatives.
Similar concerns were raised by "De Fabel van de Illegal" (The Myth of Illegality), a left-wing anti-racist immigrant rights organization based in the Netherlands.[4] Starting in 1998, this group began issuing online alerts which in 2003 were published in English as a booklet under the title: Nationalism, Anti-Semitism, and the Anti-Globalization Movement. Because of concerns over this and related issues, the group left the anti-globalization movement.
In their literature, the group discussed how the European New Right (Not the same as the U.S. New Right) openly tried to insert anti-Semitic ideas into anti-globalization campaigns such as the one against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Conspiracy theorists also visited anti-MAI meetings. On such a meeting in Geneva in August 1998, titled "Globalisation and Resistance", one participant wanted to publicly read excerpts from the books written by Jan van Helsing, a German anti-Semite. Around about the same time, "conspiracy expert" Kühles came into contact with the Dutch campaign. For several weeks he was able to spread his anti-Semitic rhetoric in anarchist circles before being unmasked.[5]
In North America, progressive groups have warned that the Neonazi National Alliance and similar antisemitic groups have sought to recruit anti-gobalization protestors through websites which avoid explicit declarations of far-right politics.
Allegations from the right
A greater number of sources, particularly within the blogosphere, reference an opinion-editorial piece by Mark Strauss, editor of Foreign Policy Magazine, which alleges that anti-Semitism is present in the anti-globalization movement.
Strauss’ article draws on the Naomi Klein article cited above, which discusses concerns that opposition to the Iraq war, US Policy in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may have encouraged some in the anti-globalization movement to pursue common cause with groups that ignore and even encourage anti-Semitism. However, Strauss extends and expands upon this concern, asserting that the activists are seeking solace in conspiracy theories and that “modern anxieties are merging with the old hatreds and myths on which they rest” [6]
Strauss also points to an anti-globalisation march in Porto Allegre, Brazil at which he alleges that some marchers displayed Swastikas and Jewish peace activists were assaulted. He draws many of his sources from anti-Semitic newspapers in the Arab world, and does not provide direct links to the sources of several of the accusations mentioned above. He also qualifies his accusations by stating that the anti-globalization movement:
isn't inherently anti-Semitic, yet it helps enable anti-Semitism by peddling conspiracy theories. In its eyes, globalization is less a process than a plot hatched behind closed doors by a handful of unaccountable bureaucrats and corporations. Underlying the movement's humanistic goals of universal social justice is a current of fear mongering - the IMF, the WTO, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) are portrayed not just as exploiters of the developing world, but as supranational instruments to undermine our sovereignty. [7]
Similar accusations have been made by Sol Stern, a senior fellow of the (conservative think-tank) Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal. Stern identifies what he sees as anti-Semitism within the movement as a function of Jews no longer being portrayed as the victims of capitalism, but rather as its masters.[8].
Further support for allegations of anti-semitism is perceived by some authors by a March 2003 report on anti-Semitism in the European Union by Werner Bergmann and Juliane Wetzel of the Berlin Research Centre on Anti-Semitism, which identified anti-globalization rallies as one of the sources of anti-Semitism on the Left. However, although the report was written for the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), a statement on the EUMC website distances the EU from the report, because, they say, it fails to distinguish between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel. [9] Bergmann and Wetzel noted:
In the extreme left-wing scene anti-Semitic remarks were to be found mainly in the context of pro-Palestinian and anti-globalisation rallies and in newspaper articles using anti-Semitic stereotypes in their criticism of Israel. Often this generated a combination of anti-Zionist and anti-American views that formed an important element in the emergence of an anti-Semitic mood in Europe. [10] (pdf)
Reaction to allegations
In defense of the anti-globalization movement, supporters point to the support given by many Jews, such as Noam Chomsky, to anti-globalization initiatives, and to the participation of Israeli pacifist organizations in anti-globalization demonstrations. Also, in reaction to the Strauss' article's use of Naomi Klein as a source, it could be stated that he misrepresents her argument.
Bret Stephens, in a 2002 Jerusalem Post article condemning the European political left, including many of the members of the anti-globalization coalition, nevertheless argues that it is not anti-Semitic:
- "...to say that the anti-Israel left has become anti-Semitic both overstates the case and misses the point. Overstates because, even while there's a hard core of Israel-haters who really are anti-Semitic - France's Robert Faurisson comes to mind - many more are simply well-wishers of what they see as the legitimate Palestinian struggle for self-determination within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. And it misses the point because opposing Israel's policies in the territories (or just plain opposing Israel) is just one plank in a much broader political and cultural agenda covering everything from global warming to free trade to labor policy. In this, anti-Semitism is never a premise, and only rarely a conclusion, whereas for genuine anti-Semites the malevolence of Jews is always the premise." (4/19/02, p.16.B)
References
- "Symposium: Leftist Anti-Semitism" by Jamie Glazov, FrontPageMagazine.com, September 19, 2003
- "Antiglobalism's Jewish Problem" by Mark Strauss, Foreign Policy, November-December 2003, on YaleGlobal Online, Yale University.
- "Manifestations of Anti-Semitism in the European Union" (pdf) by Werner Bergmann and Juliane Wetzel, Berlin Research Centre on Anti-Semitism, Berlin Technical University.
- EUMC statement, regarding the Bergmann/Wetzel report.
- "Sharon's Best Weapon" by Naomi Klein, In These Times, May 2, 2002.
- "Race Baiting: Adbusters' listing of Jewish neo-cons the latest wacko twisy in lefty mag's remake by Kate Raynes-Goldie, Now Magazine March 8, 2004.