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Bigotry and Criticism of Israel

(Boston Globe) - James Carroll Everyone who loves Israel, while also affirming Palestinian hopes, is disheartened. It is possible to condemn the broad Palestinian surrender to the nihilist fringe that sponsors such brutality without falling into an endemic anti-Palestinian bigotry. That the proper Palestinian demand for justice is so soaked in blood severely undercuts its claim on the world's conscience, and it is no manifestation of racial hatred to say so. But criticism of Israel is increasingly animated by anti-Semitism. This shows up most obviously in some Arab countries, but also in Europe and America where political criticism of the Sharon government morphs into transcendent scorn. A feature of anti-Semitic thinking at play here might be called the celebration of ''the ideal Jew.'' Jews as they exist are measured against Jews as they should exist, and are always found wanting. Israelis are thus commonly measured against standards of justice that Palestinians would not match, and neither, for that matter, would the administration of George W. Bush.
2003-05-21 00:00:00
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