The Real New Anti-Semitism

"What, then, is anti-Arab racism? I cannot answer this question; I can only explain what I mean when I use the term... I use it generally to mean acts of physical violence against Arabs based not on chance but largely (or exclusively) on the ethnicity of the victim; moments of ethnic discrimination in schools, civil institutions, and the workplace; the Othering of Arabs based on essentialized or biologically determined ideology; the totalization and dehumanization of Arabs by continually referring to them as terrorists; the marginalization of Arabs as it is informed by exclusionary conceptions of Americanness; the taunting of Arabs with epithets such as sand nigger, dune coon, camel jockey, and raghead; the profiling of Arabs based on name, religion, or country of origin; and the elimination of civil liberties based on distrust of the entire group rather than on the individuals within that group who may merit suspicion. In short, the redirection of classic American racism at a non-White ethnic group whose origins lie in an area of the world marked for colonization by the United States and whose residents are therefore dehumanized for the sake of political expediency." (Anti-Arab Racism in the USA: Where it Comes From & What it Means Today, Steven Salaita, 2006 pp 12-13)

A tale of 3 men:-

An American citizen, Ben-Ami Kadish, 85, was convicted late last year of spying for Israel in the 80s. Although espionage carries the death penalty in the US, Kadish pled guilty and got off with a fine. It actually took the US Government 23 years to charge him. When asked by the judge why it took so long, the prosecutor merely said, "There is no mystery behind it, it's just what happened." Opined the judge: "Why it took the government 23 years to charge Mr Kadish is shrouded in mystery... It is clear the [US] government could have charged Mr Kadish with far more serious crimes." (US man gets no jail time in 'mysterious' case of spying for Israel, haaretz.com, 30/5/09)

Two American citizens, Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi, directors of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF*), the largest Palestinian-American charity in the US, were each sentenced to 65 years in prison for funding schools and other programs allegedly controlled, according to Israeli evidence, by Hamas. The provision of twelve million dollars worth of humanitarian aid by the HLF allegedly allowed Hamas to devote more of its resources to 'destroying' Israel. Of course, billions of dollars worth of US military 'aid' to Israel in no way allows it to devote more of its resources to wiping Palestine off the map. (See US Muslim charity leaders get 65 years in prison for 'funding Hamas', Jason Ditz, news.antiwar.com, 27/5/09)

[*"HLF works in the fields of health, community development, emergency relief and social service projects. In education, its activities on behalf of Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan and in Gaza and the West Bank range from endowing school museums and specialized educational centers to providing durable individual school 'backpacks' at $50 per needy Palestinian student that contain pencils, erasers, tablets and even a school uniform. HLF 'back to school' and 'stay in school' scholarships also have enabled qualified Palestinian engineering, law and journalism students to study at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Among more personalised programs in which HLF donors can participate are sponsorship of an orphan at $50 per month, adoption of a whole family at $100 a month, or the 'reach a child' project which provides $35 a month for children who are handicapped, crippled, or living with insolvent families. HLF medical projects include helping to build medical clinics and facilities, provide them with supplies, medicines and state-of-the-art-technology, and awarding various medical scholarships. More astonishing, in view of the virtually unlimited needs among Palestinian refugees wherever they have found shelter in the Middle East, is the ability of the HLF to move emergency volunteers, equipment and supplies wherever help is needed in the aftermath of disasters around the world. Among places where HLF volunteers have gone to work are Bosnia, Kosovo, and, even more recently, in Turkey in the wake of the massive 1999 earthquake there. Closer to home, HLF has sent emergency aid twice to Oklahoma... The first time was in the wake of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. Aid was sent again in 1999 in the wake of tornadoes that struck near Tulsa." (Heavy-handed intimidation fails to deter Palestinian-American charity, Richard H Curtiss, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2000)]

In the US they first came for the Arabs...

Postscript (2/6/09): A man fom Gaza has just been sentenced to 45 months jail by an Israeli court for allegedly supplying "terror groups with 5 tons of steel and 5 tons of iron, knowing these would be utilized in producing arms and missiles to be used against Israel." (Palestinian sentenced to 45 months for giving Gaza terror groups steel, The Jerusalem Post, 1/6/09)