Ben Rubinstein
pro member
I read a recent article online about Israel, the comments below it were almost unanimous in their assertion that the Jews run America and that is the root of all world trouble. I would think it to have been just some crazies would it not have been for it seeming to be the mantra of a certain section of left wing thinkers in any conversation involving Israel. What really brought it to mind was talking to the boss of my camera store in the UK, a good friend and really nice guy who mentioned as a 'by the way' that 'everyone knows the Jews run America'. I was rather dumbfounded!
Seriously, the assertion is one that has changed little from a pamphlet brought out under the secret sponsership of the Russian Government well over a hundred years ago under the title 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' which asserted (I haven't read it) that there was a select group of Jews who would meet and decide world politics for their benifit. Very Robert Ludlum in fact. The assertion was interestingly also the base on which Hitler wrote the principles of Mein Kampf, the assertion that unless curbed the Jews would rule the world.
I have to admit that as a Jew I find it almost amusing that America thinks so little of itself that they would ascribe to the view that not only have they allowed one of the smallest minorities in the country (Hispanics are the largest followed by African Americans according to an article that I read on Yahoo) to take over, but that although the Jewish lobby is undoubtely powerful, I have little doubt that it is nothing compared to the oil lobby, the weapons manufacturing lobby, etc.
What does worry me is that a huge amount of the diatribes leveled against Jews in this day and age are incredibly and extremely uncomfortably similar to those used just 69 years ago the echos are very worrying to those who know the history of the Jews over the past 2000 years where they have been used as scapegoats for most everything from the Black Plague to the 2nd World War to 911 to somehow Iraq (like Israel didn't have enough problems on its plate!). What is worrying is that although only 5 million Jews live in Israel, a small fraction of the Jews in the world, Israel has become synonmous with Jew and the hatred spewed is against 'the Jew' rather than 'the Israeli'. Words such as 'Holocaust', 'Nazi', 'Genocide' are regularly bandied about as descriptions, a rather sucessful attempt at throwing off the guilt and realisation of Jews in a historical context to justify hate preached against them.
I remember a high up member of parliment (UK) talking to a group of Jewish students stating that Anti Semetism is now again popular in upper class circles as a matter of over dinner conversation.
I hope none of the intelligent members of this forum are prey to such illusions but does anyone else share an amusment at the rather obvious use of Jews as a scapegoat for all Americas ills even in this day and age, and also an apprehension as to the level and acceptability of such obviously regurgitated age old Anti Semitism and Racism for much the same reason?
Does anyone else share with me the belief that a rather obvious indication of a good old fashioned anti semite is the use of the word 'Jew' instead of 'Israeli' when attacking Israeli policies?
And just a plea, can we keep this one civil, polite and based on facts not left or right propaganda?
And just to make it photographic ;-)
Yerushalmi children looking back at Jerualem through the back window of their bus. The 'Yerushalmi' Jews came to Jerusalem some 300 years ago to escape pursecution after the failure of Napleon in Russia when almost a million Jews were killed in pogroms. They have hardly changed since then and consider the Israeli government as an occupying country just as they considered the Turks and English who preceded them! I am dying to do a project on them when I have the time, incredibly nice people with a beautifully innocent livelihood and happy children whom it's a pleasure to watch and photograph.
Seriously, the assertion is one that has changed little from a pamphlet brought out under the secret sponsership of the Russian Government well over a hundred years ago under the title 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' which asserted (I haven't read it) that there was a select group of Jews who would meet and decide world politics for their benifit. Very Robert Ludlum in fact. The assertion was interestingly also the base on which Hitler wrote the principles of Mein Kampf, the assertion that unless curbed the Jews would rule the world.
I have to admit that as a Jew I find it almost amusing that America thinks so little of itself that they would ascribe to the view that not only have they allowed one of the smallest minorities in the country (Hispanics are the largest followed by African Americans according to an article that I read on Yahoo) to take over, but that although the Jewish lobby is undoubtely powerful, I have little doubt that it is nothing compared to the oil lobby, the weapons manufacturing lobby, etc.
What does worry me is that a huge amount of the diatribes leveled against Jews in this day and age are incredibly and extremely uncomfortably similar to those used just 69 years ago the echos are very worrying to those who know the history of the Jews over the past 2000 years where they have been used as scapegoats for most everything from the Black Plague to the 2nd World War to 911 to somehow Iraq (like Israel didn't have enough problems on its plate!). What is worrying is that although only 5 million Jews live in Israel, a small fraction of the Jews in the world, Israel has become synonmous with Jew and the hatred spewed is against 'the Jew' rather than 'the Israeli'. Words such as 'Holocaust', 'Nazi', 'Genocide' are regularly bandied about as descriptions, a rather sucessful attempt at throwing off the guilt and realisation of Jews in a historical context to justify hate preached against them.
I remember a high up member of parliment (UK) talking to a group of Jewish students stating that Anti Semetism is now again popular in upper class circles as a matter of over dinner conversation.
I hope none of the intelligent members of this forum are prey to such illusions but does anyone else share an amusment at the rather obvious use of Jews as a scapegoat for all Americas ills even in this day and age, and also an apprehension as to the level and acceptability of such obviously regurgitated age old Anti Semitism and Racism for much the same reason?
Does anyone else share with me the belief that a rather obvious indication of a good old fashioned anti semite is the use of the word 'Jew' instead of 'Israeli' when attacking Israeli policies?
And just a plea, can we keep this one civil, polite and based on facts not left or right propaganda?
And just to make it photographic ;-)
Yerushalmi children looking back at Jerualem through the back window of their bus. The 'Yerushalmi' Jews came to Jerusalem some 300 years ago to escape pursecution after the failure of Napleon in Russia when almost a million Jews were killed in pogroms. They have hardly changed since then and consider the Israeli government as an occupying country just as they considered the Turks and English who preceded them! I am dying to do a project on them when I have the time, incredibly nice people with a beautifully innocent livelihood and happy children whom it's a pleasure to watch and photograph.
