Will the IHRA make antisemites out of Jews, Prophets, and God? (Part 3)

(This is the continuation of last issue’s article of the same title.)

Days and weeks pass, and we tend to forget quickly in a world ruled by Satan in which “sport and play” is the order of the day. So, let us remember that this series of articles was triggered by the courageous stance of St. Petersburg (Florida) councilman Brother John Muhammad. He abstained to vote on a motion to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA WDA).

We remind the reader of this controversial definition that, since its inception in 2016, is igniting all over the world[1] a response from many, including Jews (Rabbi Alissa Wise,[2] former Deputy Director of The Jewish Voice, for instance), because of its deceptive phrasing and apparent objective to censor legitimate criticism.

Here is the controversial definition:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

The very first sentence is fatally problematic. What is the definition of “perception”? According to Merriam-Webster:

1 a: a result of perceiving: OBSERVATION
b: a mental image: CONCEPT
2 obsolete: CONSCIOUSNESS
3 a: awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation
b: physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience
4 a: quick, acute, and intuitive cognition: APPRECIATION
b: a capacity for comprehension

The reader certainly must have noticed that nowhere to be seen is the term “fact” or “objective” in the many iterations of the definition of antisemitism. Therefore, it allows the one wielding the epithet “antisemitism” the luxury of subjectivity. Let us consider examples of how this subjectivity becomes counterproductive, exposing the real intentions behind the WDA.

The IHRA gives us this example of “antisemitism”:

Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

Right away, the reader should notice that “antisemitism” is now equated with criticism of Israel’s policies. It doesn’t even require Jews to be in the picture. This means that Jewish professor (PhD) and author Norman Finkelstein is by IHRA standards a long-standing antisemite. Indeed, according to his own recollection[3] (and picture below) of his protests against the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, he compared Israel to Nazis. What is more interesting is that from his own point of view in 2006, this analogy, or juxtaposition, is not necessary anymore because “Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians now have an integrity of their own.”[4]

[Image taken from YouTube]
His sign reads:
“This Son of SURVIVORS of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, AUSCHWITZ, MAIJDENEK will NOT be silent.
Israeli NAZIS – Stop the HOLOCAUST in Lebanon!!!”

After the release of his book The Holocaust Industry in 2000, Dr. Finkelstein declared at a press conference in Europe, while promoting his book, that

There is no new antisemitism. This is pure fabrication. There is a creation of a new antisemitism to serve the same purpose as was used for the past 20 years, the Holocaust industry, to divert attention from what’s being done to the Palestinians. So, everybody is talking about the “new antisemitism” instead of what’s being done to the Palestinians. And, in a wonderful inversion to turn Israel and its supporters into the victims. And turn the Palestinians and their supporters into the victimizers. Turning reality totally on its head.[5]

Mr. Finkelstein is in good company as a member of the very numerous “antisemitic” club. He is now accompanied by Israeli journalist and author, winner of the 2021 Sokolov Award[6] (Israel’s most prestigious award for journalism), Gideon Levy. In a recent interview[7] with Jewish broadcast journalist Amy Goodman, of Democracy Now!, Mr. Levy said:

I don’t see the situation in which [Benjamin] Netanyahu continues, and all the ministers around him, who are, all of them, no ones, fascists, and they, part of them, would even be defined in Europe as neo-Nazis—those people who called for all kind of terrible things to do and did nothing to make Israel prepared for any danger, and continue now to doing [sic] nothing.

Gideon Levy [Image from cbc.ca]

Considering that Amy Goodman didn’t put up any resistance to Mr. Levy’s hypothesis about some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ministers, by IHRA standards, she could very well be considered antisemitic by association. Of course, this is possible only in the parallel world of the IHRA.

As if this isn’t enough, two Israeli heavyweights are now added to the club: Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Israeli major general Yair Golan.

[Ehud Barack, picture from The Times of Israel]

In 2019 the General likened Israel to pre-war (Nazi) Germany and that comparison was backed by Ehud Barak. The latter is reported to have said:

Yair Golan told the truth about the processes that are happening in our country, which happened in Europe 90 years ago…[8]

And what did Gen. Golan say?

If there is something that frightens me in the memory of the Holocaust, it is identifying horrifying processes that occurred in Europe…70, 80 and 90 years ago and finding evidence of their existence here in our midst, today, in 2016…[9]

As Reuters reported:

Golan also made a clear reference to the Hebron shooting, over which the soldier involved is due to stand trial next week on manslaughter charges that carry a maximum 20-year prison term.[10]

Even though Gen. Golan had to back down from his perception of (some) Jews [my emphasis], the damage was done. According to Ehud Barak, as reported in The Times of Israel:

It ended his chances of being appointed chief of staff, it is unacceptable to me.[11]

[Major General Yair Golan, picture from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]

If these few statements by Jews are to be found antisemitic by the IHRA WDA and worthy of preventing career advancement, what then is to be thought of Rabbi Yosef Ben Porat for his statement about Hitler?

“And he is right!”

Right about what? The Rabbi explains that from what he read of Mein Kampf, paraphrasing Adolf Hitler and building on Hitler’s thoughts:

That the Jews are communists. They made the Russian Revolution. They killed there 30 million Russians. All the intelligent ones, in a cruel and horrific way—and that’s their plan for the entire world. The next country in line is Germany. They founded the German Communist and Socialist parties. And it’s true. If we don’t defeat them now, they will eliminate us and they will slaughter another 20 million—all the intelligent people. And that’s how they went from country to country. So eventually the only intelligent ones remaining would be the Jews.[12]

Again, the Rabbi said, “And he [Hitler] is right!” He continues by saying:

They[13] destroyed all the values. Poisoned literature and theater. Who did it? Torah-observant Jews poisoned the German theater? Out of nine large German newspapers, seven were owned by Jews.

[Rabbi Yosef Ben Porat, picture from his Facebook page]

I invite the reader to watch Rabbi Ben Porat’s whole video to hear what he also says about the famous German composer Richard Wagner’s opinions on Jews, with which the Rabbi also agrees. Wagner was labeled “antisemitic” for his views on German Jews.

To conclude this third part of the series, one must understand that all these examples of Jews criticizing the Israeli government’s actions that are likened to Nazi Germany policies are based on the objective perceptions of the holders of such views. However, the IHRA WDA does not care about whether or not the perception is based on truth or falsehood. Again, the first sentence of the WDA is:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.

The “may be expressed as” part of the IHRA definition indicates that the perception does not need to be founded in hatred to be considered antisemitism. Neither does the definition invoke the essence (truth or falsehood) of the said perception as relevant to the labeling. This allows the accuser, for instance the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), to use at will the trick of so-called antisemitism to try to censor and break anyone who dares to speak the truth. As the reader might know, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam are suing the ADL and the Simon Wiesenthal Center for their subjective, dishonest, and spurious use of the word “antisemitism.”

The reader is invited to hear the Minister’s October 28, 2023, address[14] on this matter and to read the lawsuit at https://noi.org/noivadl/.