Ahmadinejad, Anti-Racism, and Anti-Semitism
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become infamous for his public statements condemning the state of Israel, even going so far as to say that it should be “wiped from the pages of history”. It is for this reason, amongst others, that Israel – and by proxy the United States – regard Iran as a hostile state.
However, at the recent World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Geneva, Ahmadinejad showed a different face. Other UN member states were wary of his presence, thinking that he would use the conference as a platform to spout Anti-Semitic rhetoric. And indeed, once he started speaking, diplomats from 23 European countries walked out, to return only once he was finished speaking.
The thing is…Ahmadinejad did not spout anything remotely Anti-Semitic. He was quoted as saying:
Following World War II they resorted to military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering…
AND:
In compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.
Nowhere in these statements does Ahmadinejad disparage Jewish people. Nowhere does he make any sweeping negative statements about any people or culture. In fact, he even seems to reverse his previous stance as a Holocaust denier by acknowledging – twice – that the Jews suffered much during World War II. Note the phrases “Jewish suffering” and “dire consequences of racism” – both referring to the Holocaust. He then goes on to say that under this pretext – pretext not pretense – Israel has gone on to establish a racist government, that is, one that is anti-Palestinian.
Anti-Semitism, which for reasons unknown as been given its own separate status apart from prejudice of any other kind, has come to mean not only racism towards Jewish people, but any sort of condemnation of the state of Israel or its government. This is a strange phenomenon which has allowed Israel to be cavalier on the global stage, for to speak out against their actions means the possibility of being dubbed an Anti-Semite. One can even be an Anti-Semite by association, it seems, as Israel condemned Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz – host of the event – for even meeting with Ahmadinejad.
The diplomats who walked out – and they were out of their chairs within seconds after Ahmadinejad started speaking – had already made up their minds about what he was going to say, and must not have heard his actual words. If they had, could they honestly deny that Israeli aggression towards Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank – looks even a little like racism? Could they deny the overtly racist statements of one Avigdor Lieberman – an influential member of the Knesset – who is unapologetic in his Anti-Arab rhetoric, going so far as to say that Arab Israelis (not Israelis in general) should take a test of their loyalty to Israel in order to retain their right to vote?
How could anyone capable of such a denial, in good faith, attend an anti-racism conference? It is a strange sort of thing when people acknowledge racism where it is to their political advantage, but ignore it otherwise. It is also a very common thing.
If Anti-Semitism is saying anything negative about Jewish people or the state of Israel, then how can defaming, oppressing, and killing Palestinians not even be considered within the context of racism?
The strangest thing about it though is the whole mindset of meeting to discuss “this”, and then walking out because someone is saying something you don’t want to hear. There’s a different between something you don’t want to hear and something you disagree with. In order to debate and/or discuss something to remedy an issue BOTH sides have to be willing to. Granted these kind of things have been going on for hundreds(thousands) of years, and probably won’t be cleared up in a weekend. But it’s best to hear the argument before knowing/stating what you disagree with.
I read the speech in it’s entirety and the Iranian President said nothing disparaging. I consider myself moderately well versed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as European imperialism after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and he said nothing that was factually incorrect. A solution that robs people of their land through violence and “might makes right” is no different, ultimately, than what Hitler perpetrated onto Poland and the other European countries he stomped over. Ahmadinejad was not anti-Semitic.
The cry of Anti-Semitism from Jews upon any critical observation is becoming more and more similar to that of whites crying “The Race Card” when critical observations of white society are raised.