contested terrain

The “new antisemitism” in the 1960s

Left-wing Canadian writer and campaigner Terry Glavin notes:

The [Alliance for Workers' Liberty]‘s Sean Matgamna recognized the “new antisemitism” (a phenomenon that most of the “Left” persists in pretending is a right-wing hoax) as far back as 1988: “It was a doctrine that dared no longer speak its old name except in whispers and occasional back-alley fascist shouting; but by the ’70s it had another name which it dared to speak, indeed to shout, in a loud chorus in which participated most of the governments and states of the world, including some of the worst governments in existence. A new name: anti-Zionism.” Matgamna was noticing antisemitism masquerading as “anti-Zionism” in the Irish Workers Group as far back as 1967-68.

Matgamna’s account of the IWG is a fascinating case study in the history of left antisemitism and worth reading, although some of its complex details may appear obscure and impenetrable for the non-initiated. Here is an extract: Continue Reading »

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The whiff of populism

From Principia Dialectica:

Populism and anti-semitism go hand in hand

The crisis of the economy has thrown up all sorts of protests. Some more populist than others. The EDL comes to mind for example, a proto-nationalist outfit that resembles the Northern League in Italy. Other forms of populist action is examplified by UK Uncut, a vociferous flash mob which intends to half criticize the commodity. In fact it seems they want this system to work in a clean manner, they talk of “Morality Tax”, they have attacked Topshop because Philip Green , the owner of that firm, has apparently managed to divert alot of cash to his wife’s bank account in Monaco.

But most firms use creative accounting , that is capitalism. UK Uncut need to get down to the root of the problem, not the surface. The targeting of Green has also an antisemitic side to it. if only he had been of Palestinian origin. It is imperative to analyse what goes on, and not fall for easy populist answers to a deep problem.

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Wikileaks and the conspiracy theory of history

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Event in London: Antisemitism – a shortened critique of capitalism?

The Wine and Cheese Appreciation Society of Greater London, the UK offshoot of Junge Link, have a public meeting in London on 11 November entitled “Antisemitism – a shortened critique of capitalism?” Details here. Continue Reading »

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The myth of Jewish communism

Andre Gerrits  The Myth of Jewish Communism reviewedby Philip Mendes.

via Judeosphere.

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On anti-imperialism

Two things to read:

Kellie Strom on “anti-imperialism”, taking as a point of departure Judith Butler on the Berlin Christopher Street Day Parade, but moving on to “anti-imperialism” in general. Continue Reading »

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Left antisemitism a century ago: the Anglo-Boer War

AWL. The identification of global capitalist power with the Jews and Britain goes back before the Nazis to sections of the British left at the time of the Boer war — when they condemned as a “Jewish war” — and to the Populist movement in the USA in the late 19th century.

Moishe Postone: Yes, and it’s coming back in the United States now. The so-called “tea parties”, the so-called right-wing grass-roots fury about the financial crisis, have definite anti-semitic overtones.

Source: Postone interviewed by Martin Thomas of the Alliance for Workers Liberty (linked to here)

Back in 2004, Anne Summers writing at Engage noted that

Connoisseurs of déjà vu will be impressed by Claire Hirshfield’s article ‘The Anglo-Boer War and the Issue of Jewish Culpability’, published in the Journal of Contemporary History as long ago as 1980.

That war, which saw the first concentration camps set up by the British military to keep Boer villagers, mainly women and children, from supporting their own soldiers and guerillas between 1899 and 1902, was widely opposed within left and liberal circles in Britain. There was justified suspicion that a specious pretext had been found for invading the Boer republics, in which the British government, Transvaal mineowners, Cecil Rhodes and others were implicated.

However, the ugly side of ‘pro-Boer’ agitation was its stress on the involvement of Jewish settlers in South Africa.

I recalled this when noting Judeosphere’s post, which contains a large extract from another Hirshfeld article and is well worth reading for that extract.

Here are some extracts from the Journal of Contemporary History article: Continue Reading »

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Zionism, anti-semitism and the left: An interview with Moishe Postone

An interview with Postone by the Alliance for Workers Liberty.

(More related material from the AWL here. Links to more Postone resources here.)

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Some readings on antisemitism in the anti-globalisation movement

Some of these are more scholarly than others:

• Bernd Sommer  “Anti-capitalism in the name of ethno-nationalism: ideological shifts on the German extreme right” Patterns of Prejudice, Volume 42, Number 3, July 2008 , pp. 305-316(12). Abstract: “Sommer examines the (re-)emergence of anti-capitalist and anti-globalization themes within the ideology and discourses of the German extreme right. He argues that it would be short-sighted to interpret this development simply as another opportunistic attempt by the extreme right to incorporate Zeitgeist issues into its political agenda in order to appeal to a broader spectrum of supporters. An analysis of the latest campaigns of the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD)—the most successful extreme-right party in recent years—as well as the activities of groups that exist within the larger German extreme-right milieu, the so-called freie Kameradschaften, reveals that the taking up of social questions as well as anti-capitalist and anti-globalization themes marks a deeper shift within the political agenda of the extreme right in Germany. However, the analysis shows that racist and antisemitic issues do not disappear with this shift, but are linked with and incorporated into anti-capitalist and anti-globalization discourses.”
• Werner Bonefeld, Kosmas Psychopedis Human dignity: social autonomy and the critique of capitalism (Chapter by Bonefeld: “Nationalism and AntiSemitism in Anti-Globalization Perspective” – a Marxist analysis of the issue). See also Werner Bonefeld and Sergio Tischler “What is to be Done? Leninism, anti-Leninist Marxism and the Question of Revolution today“. See also Bonefeld, W. (1997), ‘Notes on Anti-Semitism’, Common Sense, no.21, pp. 60–76. Bonefeld, W. (2000), ‘The Spectre of Globalization’, in Bonefeld, W. and K. Psychopedis (eds), The Politics of Change, Palgrave, London. Bonefeld, W. and J. Holloway (1996), ‘Conclusion: Money and Class Struggle’, in Bonefeld, W. and J. Holloway (eds), Global Capital, National State and the Politics of Money, Palgrave, London.
• Andrei S. Markovits “European Anti-Americanism (and Anti-Semitism): Ever Present Though Always Denied“. Extract: “It is by dint of America’s proximity to Israel that the latter has become such a bogeyman to the anti-globalization movement. We were all witnesses to that ugly – but telling – political theater by demonstrators at the Davos meeting in 2003 when one person sported a Donald Rumsfeld mask and a yellow Jewish star of David (the kind the Nazis made the Jews wear everywhere in German-occupied Europe) with the word “sheriff” on it. His companion was dressed like a cudgel-wielding Ariel Sharon. They and their colleagues danced around a golden calf embodying money and wealth. And surely most, if not all, of the anti-globalist protesters in that scene viewed themselves as leftists, not as rightist. Similar openly anti-Semitic iconography was commonplace at anti-globalist meetings in Porto Alegre and Durban among others.”
• Josef Joffe “Nations We Love to Hate: Israel, America and the New Antisemitism” The Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism. Extract: On Jose Bove: “So here was a spokesman of the anti-globalization movement who was conflating globalization with Americanization and extending his loathing of both to Israel.”
• Antiglobalism’s Jewish Problem, by Mark Strauss Foreign Policy 2003. Abstract: “Anti-Semitism is again on the rise. Why now? Blame the backlash against globalization. As public fears grow over lost jobs, shaky economies, and political and social upheaval, the far right and extreme left are seeking solace in conspiracy theories. Modern anxieties are merging with old hatreds and the myths on which they rest.”
• Mark Weitzman “MAGICAL LOGIC: GLOBALIZATION, CONSPIRACY THEORY, AND THE SHOAH” Simon Wiesenthal Center. Extract: “I have used Duke’s writings to sketch out some of the newer themes that have become part of the current far-right discourse. These motifs, such as the emergence of anti-globalization or ecology were often seen as part of the left or liberal agenda. They have been reworked to fit into right wing extremist discourse, retooled by giving them an antisemitic cast.” (p.1)
• Robert Wistrich European Antisemitism Reinvents Itself, American Jewish Committee 2005. Extract: “[In Germany,] Israel-bashing emerged as a highly popular mass spectator sport and as a point of convergence between far-right and left-wing anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. It enabled “pacifist” antiglobalists from the far right and left to embrace Osama bin Laden and the radical Islamists as part of a coming “anti-Zionist” and anti-American revolution.” (p.25)

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London event: “Untermenschen” and “Asylum Seekers”

Event in London, UK, on Sunday 24 January, connecting the struggles of refugees and asylum-seekers in the UK, Israel, Palestine and elsewhere. Details here.

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