...I found the issue of Israel overwhelming in nearly every meeting. Wherever I went, denials of anti-Semitism were abundant from those I encountered. Yet, these same parties were all too willing to easily slide into denunciations of Israel to my face and then proceed to blame Jews collectively for Israel's actions next. For example, in 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia, I met with several members of the Ulama (Muslim religious council). My hosts immediately denounced Israel and for good measure, mocked the Torah, calling it “illegitimate.” They then asked that “no more Jews come to Indonesia.” In Egypt, a journalist admitted to me Egyptians see all Jews as Israelis as did Muslim leaders in Argentina, France, Holland, the UAE, and professors and my translator in Saudi Arabia. In Venezuela, I met with members of the Jewish community who expressed great fears of Hugo Chavez's and his Foreign Minister's anti-Zionist declarations of “Israeli genocide” and of the existence in Venezuela of a “Zionist lobby” as well as claims that Jews were “Christ-killers.” In short, I found anti-Zionism to be the new anti-Semitism...
...Ms. Rosenthal would do well to study these points to gain an understanding of the problem that will predominate her portfolio. Today, individual Jews around the world are blamed for Israel's actions and Israel is denounced for genocide and Nazi-like actions...
Ms. Rosenthal's criticisms of Ambassador Oren strike a chord particularly because this is not her policy portfolio to advocate. She is supposed to fight anti-Semitism, not defend J-Street, an organization on whose Advisory Board she formally sat before her appointment to the State Department.
Find out by reading this.
(Kippah tip: Solomonia)
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