Thursday, September 7, 2006
All "exacerbated," according to the BBC's report, by the situation in the Middle East, of course: MPs deliver anti-Semitism report
The panel of 14 MPs said the "disturbing" rise had been exacerbated by the situation in the Middle East.
It also said a minority of UK Islamist extremists had incited Jewish hatred.
Labour backbencher Denis McShane said abuse took "classic forms" such as synagogues being vandalised and school children being spat at and insulted...
...The former Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, who was one of the members of the panel, said the situation regarding anti-Semitic attacks was worse than he had previously believed.
"A combination of complacency and ignorance seems to be the name of the game here," he said.
"Many police forces simply keep no record of these attacks at all and therefore are unable to understand the depth or the strength of the nature of the problem...
Note this section, under this heading, which I found odd:
Speaking after the report's delivery, Mr McShane said many British Jews were the butt of some people's anger about Israeli and American policies.
"British citizens who happen to be born Jews have to accept responsibility for the anger there is against Israel or America," he said...
I find that to be very odd phraseology, and can't imagine Mr. McShane actually meant what that limited quote the BBC has provided implies. I can't imagine they would say that Muslims who suffer "hate crimes" because of September 11, for instance, must simply accept responsibility, or that some other minority must simply "suck it up" because of the perceived mis-deeds of other members identified with them. What an odd thing to leave hanging out there.
It's as though the BBC just can't get over the impulse to shame Jews for what they perceive as Israeli and American (because the Jews run America, after all) mis-deeds. It's almost as though, even here in a report about rising anti-Semitism, they show some sort of...understanding...that it's OK to trot out traditional anti-Semitic tropes because you don't agree with this or that Israeli policy. Now maybe I'm making too big a deal out of what's really just some stilted syntax in a too-brief report with a dangerous idea left hanging, but I'm not convinced I am. I think there's something more at work here in the choices made for this reporting.
Update: Further cementing my feelings on the semiotics behind BBC's framing of this issue are their choices in guests to discuss the issue. Disturbing.
In other news: a cross-party group of Swedish parliament members has delivered a report concerning an increase in rape incidents in Sweden, saying the "disturbing" rise was exacerbated by women dressing scantily.
Snark? Yes, but unfortunately not just. From The Fjordman Report on the problem of rape in Scandinavian countries:
Look, I'm sorry if you aren't a believer, but I just don't get how such lunacy on a global scale can take place without G-d pulling the strings. It's simply supernatural.
I agree that there's something a bit peculiar about the quote you singled out, but it seems clear to me that "have to accept responsibility" means "are blamed", not "should be blamed".
Anyway, while I'm glad the UK governemnt takes this seriously, I can't summon up the energy to get involved with this stuff. It immediately gets stuck in the dead end of "CAN'T ANYONE CRITICIZE ISRAEL WITHOUT...?" The bottom line is that Jews on the left have made it clear that they simply couldn't care less about leftist anti-Semitism. Realistically, why should non-Jewish leftists see anything inappropriate in raving about The Lobby, "the neocon cabal" and the like when the Jews sitting next to them are completely unfazed?
"British citizens who happen to be born Jews have to accept responsibility for the anger there is against Israel or America," he said...
Do British citizend who happen to be born British have to accept responsibility for the anger there might be against America, Canada, Australia?