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| Who are the real anti-Semites? Noor Huda Ismail, St Andrews, Scotland article in Jakarta Post |
| Djoko Susilo, a member of the House of Representatives'
Commission I for defense and foreign policy expressed his personal views
on the "Israelization" of American foreign policy in May 3's
Jakarta Post.
In his article, Susilo discussed the notion of a "Jewish Lobby", in particular the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which he said "can oust a person from office, whether as a member of U.S. Congress, minister or even the president." It is true that AIPAC is powerful in the U.S. Ariel Sharon once told an American audience, "`...when people ask me how they can help Israel, I tell them: "Help AIPAC.'" But not all Jewish Americans are part of the lobby, because Israel is not an important issue for many of them. In a 2004 survey, for example, roughly 36 percent of American Jews said they were either "not very"at all" emotionally attached to Israel. A few groups - such as Jewish Voice for Peace - strongly advocate making concessions to the Palestinians. John Mearsheimer, the Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and Stephen Walt, the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, in their joint article The Israel Lobby argue there is nothing improper about American Jews and their Christian allies attempting to sway U.S. policy: "The Lobby's activities are not a conspiracy of the sort depicted in tracts like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion," they stressed. For the most part, the individuals and groups that comprise it are only doing what other special interest groups do, but doing it much better. By contrast, pro-Arab interest groups, in so far as they exist at all, are weak, which makes the pro-Israel lobby's task even easier. There is no question that the unconditional support of the U.S. for Israel and the plight of the Palestinians make it easier for jihadists, including those such Indonesia's Imam Samudra, to rally popular support and to attract recruits. In his 280 page jailhouse autobiography Me against the Terrorist Samudra wrote: "My responsibility is to wage a global jihad against Jews and Christians throughout the world as a manifestation of Islamic solidarity between Muslims, not limited by geographic boundaries." Therefore, militants operate globally, travel widely, settle in various countries that have little connection with their homeland and learn foreign languages and forge links among themselves. And today, in the Muslim world - including Islamic communities in Western democraciesno Friday prayer would be complete without the mention of one the many conflicts in which Muslim populations are currently the victims. Indeed, the Koran sometimes uses harsh terms when referring to Jews, but historically Jews have been better treated under Muslim rulers than European ones. Radical Muslims (and many moderate conservatives) quote the anti-Semitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or works by European Holocaust deniers such as David Irving and Roger Garaudy, rather than medieval Muslim theologians. Europe's anti-Semitism can be seen clearly in Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampffor example: "The part the Jews played in the social phenomenon of prostitution and, more particularly, in the traffic of white slaves could be studied better here (Vienna) than in any other Western European City." Even today no one would deny there are still anti-Semites in Europe (and in the United States) but they are a fringe minority and their views are not shared by the vast majority of Europeans. France is also often portrayed as the most anti-Semitic country in Europe but when a Jew was murdered in Paris a few months ago by a Muslim gang, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to streets to condemn anti-Semitism. Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin both attended the victim's memorial service to show their solidarity. There is no doubt that the Palestinians' decision to resort to violence is wrong, but it isn't surprising. The Palestinians believe they have no other way of forcing concessions from Israel. It is extremely crucial to note that it is not just Muslims but Christians and secularists (from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, founded by a Christian, George Habash) too, who are involved in the nationalist struggle. An interview on September 2004 between anthropologist Scott Atran, a visiting Professor of Physiology and Public Policy, University of Michigan, and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Hamed al Badawi, supports this argument. Al Badawi said: "Our people don't own airplanes and tanks, only human bombs. Those who carry out martyrdom operations are not retarded, not hopeless, and not poor but are the best of our people." As Ehud Barak once also admitted, had he been born a Palestinian, he "would have joined a terrorist organization" and with Hamas in power now Israel has another excuse not to negotiate. And Susilo has a point when he writes "Even racist Israeli politicians such as Benjamin Netanyahu or Gen. (ret.) Rafael Eitan have been depicted as democrats", while Hamas, which democratically won the Palestine election, has been branded "a terrorist organization". The writer earned a British Chevening scholarship and is now in the postgraduate program in International Security Studies at St. Andrews University. He can be reached at noorhudaismail@yahoo.com.
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