Community Magazine March 2003

14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE B Y : M . B E N - C H A I M The Haman itarian Awards Who hates the Jews the most? Who expends the greatest effort to destroy, defame, de-legitimize, and otherwise harm Israel? Clearly the most recognizable criminal in this regard today is Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein, whose credentials are well known. But as was the case 2600 years ago, when the openly anti-Semitic Haman publicly called for destruction of the Jews, there are many others who work under the guise of various seemingly unrelated platforms that share a common thread in their baseless hatred of the Jewish nation. I n ancient Persia, Haman found King Achashverosh and his governors ready and willing accomplices in his scheme. Today, Hamans like Saddam and his cronies are aided by hamanitarian organizations who hide their anti-Semitism behind agendas and concerns. They insist they are not — forbid the thought! — anti-Semites. They claim only to care about human rights, animal rights, minority rights, Zionist “racism” and “occu- pation”, nationalism, uncensored education, the environment, etc. Rarely, though, does it take more than a superficial scratching of the surface to realize that only when it comes to an issue malevo- lent to the Jews or Israel do these modern-day hamanitarians sud- denly become hysterical about their cause. The latent institutional and governmental anti-Semitism, which has gained respectability in Europe and America, is even more insidious and dangerous than the white supremacist and black racist groups known for their anti-Semitic positions. Those who claim to be advocates of freedom, tolerance, and equality are sud- denly propounding unabashedly anti-Semitic views. It is viewed almost as the new vogue, the avant-garde philosophy of today’s high society and educated class. In this category are European governments, animal and human rights groups, university admin- istration and student unions, the media and various medical and professional associations. ANSWER Anti-War Coalition The anti-war rallies of the past year were organized by the International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition. Past rallies by ANSWER have included significant anti-Israel propaganda, including claims that Israel is guilty of “war crimes” against Palestinians and that Israel is a “racist state.” The group was responsible for last year’s largest anti-Israel rally, the “National March for Palestine Against War and Racism” in Washington on April 20, 2002, which served as a forum for sup- porting violence and terror organizations, and a proliferation of anti-Semitic expression. European Governments Holland has initiated, and Switzerland has stiff- ened anti-shechita legislation which prevents Jews from slaughtering meat according to Jewish law. Norway and Sweden have had anti-shechita legis- lation on their law books for decades. (Sweden has recently passed a law forbidding circumcision being practiced by a religious functionary instead of a doctor.) While this anti-Jewish legislation was