Oh dear. it was bound to come sooner or later. As soon as anybody sticks their head above the parapet to criticise Israel, an attempt is made to slur them as an anti-semite. I now have the notorious Zionist propagandist Jonathan Hoffman on my case.
Hoffman is the Zionists’ equivalent of the Witchfinder-General. In July 2008 he produced a report on “Anti-Semitism on The Guardian Comment is Free”, in which his definition of anti-semites included “Those who question the Zionist aim of a Jewish Homeland”.
http://www.zionismontheweb.org/CommentIsFree_ParliamentASCttee_July08.pdf
This blatant conflation of anti-Zionists with anti-Semites is typical of his methodology. It does not wash. There are a significant minority of anti-Zionist Jews, for one thing. My personal view is that all those now living in Israel and Palestine should be allowed to stay there, in a new secular and race-blind state. I do reject the state of Israel with its racially defined citizenship qualification. That is not an unusual position – Germany was only recently obliged by the EU to abandon citizenship laws based on race.
In 2004 Jonathan Hoffman made this laughable contribution as a submission in the consultation exercise on the BBC Charter:
I want to comment on the BBC’s persistent anti-Israel bias. They have
appointed Malcolm Balen as overall editor of programmes with a Mid-East
content but it has made no difference
.
www.bbccharterreview.org.uk/first_phase_responses/H/Hoffman_Jonathan.rtf
It is, incidentally, interesting that he appears to have the impression that the appointment of Malcolm Balen was supposed to help Israel. Anyone know anything about Mr Balen?
It is worth comparing Hoffman’s complaint about the BBC to the comment by OrwellianUK after the blog entry before this.
Anyway, Hoffman is now onto my case. I have just had the following email exchange with him:
Dear Mr Murray
Are you content that your site is being used to propagate anti-Semitism? :
I am a newcomer to your site. I found it because rense.com linked to your
recent colourfully titled piece on Gordon Brown (though they applied
asterisks where you did not).
I am delighted to find a former member of the British Establishment who holds
the views that you do and also that you clearly take an active interest in the comments left by your readers.
If you feel so inclined, I would be grateful if you might consider giving
your opinion on an issue regarding Israel that troubles me often: why is it that the European nations’ response to Israeli atrocities is so feeble and
half-hearted when, if it were a Muslim country doing the same thing, they would be down on it like a ton of bricks? Is it because, as respected Israeli historian and military adviser Martin van Creveld has revealed, a sizeable proportion of Israel’s nuclear weapons is trained on Europe? Is it because so much of the Western financial system and media is controlled by Zionists? Is it because the Mossad has penetrated the higher echelons of the European political Establishment?
Jonathan Hoffman
Jonathan,
There are many comments on my site that I do not agree with, not only the anti-Jewish ones. There are some very rude comments about me, for example, some completely untrue. There are currently people defending the use of the word “Paki”. I disagree with them too. There have been a number of offensively worded pro-Israel comments, and I have not deleted them. But I tend to the view that freedom of speech is most important, so I almost never delete anything from comments. My own views are the bits of the blog which I have written.
I have only ever deleted, I believe, 36 comments from my site in four years; 2 because they were about children of politicians, and 34 for being anti-semitic. This post from five days ago explained my position:
“ I have not deleted a single pro-Israeli comment from discussion on these pages, though I disagree profoundly with many. I have deleted three anti-Jewish comments. I should make it plain that I am in profound disagreement with those commenters who conflate Israel with Jews in general. We have had commenters excusing anti-Jewish comments on the grounds Jews are not a race, and positing claims of a world conspiracy of Jews and freemasons. I have only deleted three of these, because in general I believe the suppression of any opinion to be an evil which requires major justification. I find it hard to define the exact line which leads to deletion.
The great John Stuart Mill said it was legitimate to express the opinion that all corn merchants are thieves of the people’s bread; but it was not legitimate to shout the same thing to a howling mob at night carrying torches outside a corn merchant’s house. He was, as ever, right.
So almost any opinion can be expressed here. But I would be grateful if those people who have a serious grudge against Jews in general, would go and express their views on their own websites.
UPDATE
Michael has overstepped the mark by a posting about “Jews with their Satanic Smirks” and then introducing the Protocols of Zion. All of his 31 comments have therefore been deleted.”
In addition I have added numerous comments in dialogue with commenters to the effect that one should not confuse anger at the killings by Israel, with racism against Jews in general.
It is an extraordinary and terribly sad and bad thing that anti-semitism still exists. It is to me genuinely incomprehensible.
But sadly any discussion forum on Israel attracts two kinds of malevolent people.
The first kind are anti-semites.
The second are those who seek to portray as anti-semites anyone who opposes Israel’s appalling actions in Gaza. I rather fear you may be one of that kind of malevolent people, Jonathan.
I have given a fair and full answer to your question. Let me now ask you, are you content with the murder by Israel of so many women, children and old people in Gaza?
Craig Murray
"Sinn Fein was not committed to the destruction of the UK. It was committed to the unification of Ireland. The SNP is not committed to the destruction of the UK. It is committed to Scottish independence."
Cannot the author of this comment see the illogicality of the argument?
A WAR ON THE TERM "ANTI-SEMITISM".
>"In July 2008 he [Hoffman] produced a
>report on 'Anti-Semitism on The
>Guardian Comment is Free', in which
>his definition of anti-semites…
If someone is an anti-Semite, they hate a person for merely being a Semite. But Semites include the Arabs, and that, by definition, means the Palestinians.
So, by this fact alone, if you attack Jews, and Jews alone, you cannot be an anti-Semite.
Second, most Jews are not Semites; they come from various races, many hailing from Eastern Europe and Russia. The majority of the Jews, therefore, are NOT descendents of the Old Testament Hebrews.
So, even if you are a real anti-Semite, you do not hate Jews as a group because the bulk of the Jews are NOT Semites.
Therefore, it could be argued that those who support Israel are the real anti-Semites, displacing the Palestinians – true Semites! – and colonising their land with non-Semites.
Hence, to call someone an "anti-Semite" for merely criticising – or even disliking – a particular group of Jews is clearly nonsensical and unintelligent.
The question to ask is why, in particular – if it is in particular – have Jews ended up being disliked more than any other religious group? No other religious group that I know of claims the right to take land forcefully and violently off others, for starters.
By building a wall between themselves and others, Jews are saying, we want nothing to do with you lot, you ignorant heathens! Well, if you behave anti-socially, stand aloof, you end up being hated. This is something shy people know all about. When you choose to stay outside a group, that group tends to view you as unfriendly or hostile, particularly if they know nothing about you.
The fact that Jews use the term "anti-Semitic" in the same way others use the word "racist", only strengthens the idea that Jews are more than just a religious group. The use of the terms "anti-Semitic" and "anti-Semitism" needs to be dropped – especially by Jews themselves, if they are to change people's perceptions.
The idea is to undo the damage people like Hitler did (Anne Frank was a Caucasian girl, a German like any other German), not reinforce it!
A Jewish person is asking for enemies – and to be treated with something akin to racism – when anyone who legitimately criticises them is called an "anti-Semite".
But, perhaps, it is as rabbi Yisroel Weiss (www.nkusa.org) says: Zionists are fake Jews, atheists pretending to be religious, as are many others. In other words, the fake Jews are giving the minority of real Jews a bad name.
Personally, I think Muslims are far more hated today than Jews. And just as some people treat Jews like a race, others use the word "Muslim" when they mean Arab.
If Hoffman made an effort, he'd discover large numbers of people online revelling in – or expressing indifference at – the massacre of Palestinians and Iraqis. If Palestinians were bombing Jews with the same force Jews are bombing Palestinians, there'd be outrage.
For propaganda purposes, however, Israel would like us to believe that Jews are persecuted all over the world – even in Israel!
Unfortunately, Muslims are "falling" into the same "traps" Jews fell into. When I saw some Muslim women at a shopping centre, their bodies and faces were covered in black cloth – only their eyes were visible. They looked very sinister. I felt very uncomfortable in their presence, and tried not to stare. These individuals were utterly alien to me, not like any people I had seen before. My primal instincts began to surface – all the rubbish I had heard about Muslims ran through my mind – and for just that one instant I was open to the suggestion that Muslims are terrorists.
Finally, Craig Murray is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the comments left by his readers. I understand this, everyone else here understands this, so why does Jonathan Hoffman not understand this?
Perhaps it is because Hoffman is well aware that multi-millionaire proprietors control the content of most newspapers (and so newspapers reflect to a large extent the views of their proprietors), so Hoffman wrongly assumes that owners of Web sites should also act like rich proprietors, gagging "journalists" freely.
Did you ever encounter a rabid animal ?
Whatever you try, however you behave, it will savagely attack you.
It's a truly disillusioning experience.
There is no cure against rabies.
The only way to stop a rabid animal is killing it.
The state of Israel was born out of violence.
It grew with more violence.
And it will perish in a sea of violence.
Inevitably.
This guy sounds like a prat to me. I dont like what Israel is doing to Gaza so he would label me a Jew hating racist? Well, Ive got something here that he can better waste his time on
I think you are thinking like sukrat, but I think you should cover the other side of the topic in the post too…
My personal view is that all those now living in Israel and Palestine should be allowed to stay there, in a new secular and race-blind state.
It is obvious why this phrase is discriminatroy. No one seeks to question the make-up of another country. Would Mr Murray question the Islamic Republic of Iran or the same in relation to saudi arabia? No, because Murray is a complete coward and has nothing to lose by slamming Israel. He seems obsessed with Israel and obsessed with its dissolution as a Jewish state. He is so obsessed with Israel that the thousands dying around the world can hardy get their suffering heard. Yes, Gaza is a tragedy and the whole damn Israel/Palestine problem is a tragedy and there is blame on both sides but cowardly Murray is just focussed on Israel, Israel, Israel! I find Murray et al sickening the way they drag Zionism through the mud. You should be ashamed of yourself degrading such a huge part of Jewish culture. You would never do this to the Muslim culture, quite rightly, but you are an opportunist who thinks he knows which side his bread is buttered. Lay off Zionism will ya. It is as just as any other nationality and was not based on ethnic cleansing. If the Arabs had accepted UN Res. 181 instead of going to war with Israel then no one would have moved from their homes you idiots!
Seeking a fundamental revision of the State"
You are a total fool. Have you read the Hamas Charter? What is it about Article 7 on killing Jews that you don't understand. How did you ever become an Ambassador? Were we totally desperate???