Smear & Loathing

"The spectacle of protesters breaking the law in an attempt to harm a legal Jewish business was all the more abhorrent because it invited obvious historical parallels to the anti-Semitic targeting of Jewish businesses in 1930s Nazi Germany." (Anti-Israel bullies' hard centre bites in chocolate shop campaign, Cameron Stewart, The Australian, 20/8/11)

An obvious historical parallel? Maybe, but not in the way Cameron 'thinks'.

The Nazis wanted Germany free of Jews (Judenrein). The Zionists want Palestine/Israel free of Arabs (Arabrein). Both the Nazi and the Zionist regimes practised/are practising ethnic cleansing to bring this about. That's the parallel. Now here's the difference:

The Nazis boycotted/attacked Jewish stores in the 30s to squeeze Jews out of Germany. BDS boycotts (but does not attack) Israeli businesses which play a part in squeezing the Palestinians - through the ongoing occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands and the laying of siege to Palestinian communities - out of Palestine. Both 30s Nazis and today's Zionists were/are in the business of making life so difficult for their respective 'rejects' that they'd 'voluntarily' leave their homes and homelands for other parts.

The Nazis began by squeezing German Jews and ended by simply rounding up those who hadn't already left Germany and eliminating them. The Zionists began by massacring and expelling Palestinians in 1948 but are now in the process of squeezing the remainder out because the earlier ethnic cleansing wouldn't look too spruce on television today. Of course, the massacres and expulsions of 1948 remain an option, especially under cover of war.

Where Cameron gets it wrong is by equating BDS campaigners - those who resist the Israeli squeezing of Palestinians - with the Nazis, those who squeezed German Jews. But this getting it wrong is not just a reflection of Cameron's undoubted ignorance of history, both German and Palestinian, it is deliberate, part of a well-organised Zionist propaganda campaign to counter the BDS campaign by smearing its supporters.

Welcome to the latest Zionist smear/ talking point. Note those who deploy it, its permutations and where it is deployed:

"Inevitably, the overwhelming majority of the six million Israeli Jews view BDS as motivated by the same prejudices that influenced Nazi anti-Semitism..." Philip Mendes, Nick Dyrenfurth & Suzanne Rutland, Zionist academics (Israel boycott harms Arabs, too, The Australian, 8/4/11)

"I've seen pictures of Jewish shops being attacked before, of course, but they were in black and white, in another country at another ghastly time. But this is Australia. Today." Andrew Bolt, Murdoch calumnist (Something is rotten in the land I love, Daily Telegraph, 6/7/11)

"Then there are the historical parallels. In the mid-1930s, Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists used to go on rampages outside Jewish-owned shops in London's East End - some were boycotted, others smashed up... Mosley targeted Jewish traders because they were Jews. The BDS protesters targeted the Max Brenner chocolate shop because its parent company does business in the Jewish state of Israel." Gerard Henderson, Fairfax calumnist (Jews know acceptance still has its exceptions, SMH, 12/7/11)

"We remember the precedence of the 1930s; my father came from Germany, and (at) any sign of this kind of behaviour we have to draw a line in the sand." Michael Danby, MP for Melbourne Ports and co-leader of Labor's pitbull faction (Prominent Australians fight anti-Semitism with hot chocolate, Leo Shanahan, The Australian, 28/7/11)

"[Paul] Howes [AWU secretary] said the far-left protesters were 'mimicking the behaviour of the Nazi thugs' and it was necessary to 'nip this in the bud'." (ibid)

"As the daughter of refugees whose lives were critically affected by both fascism and communism, I'm grateful for what Australia has to offer... It is a truism, but we can't afford to ignore the lessons of history." Jana Wendt, journalist (ibid)

"Barbarians are once again on the march. A motley coalition of far-left socialists and far-right jihadists is shutting down Zionist businesses through violent protest. Apparently, boycotting Jews has become the new cause celebre among Melbourne's radical fringe. So when I learned that the Max Brenner chocolate shop in the CBD's Queen Victoria Centre was on the target list, I felt obliged to do something. Maybe I'm just naturally feisty, but I wasn't about to let these latter-day vandals do their worst without me trying to do my best. So I downloaded a photo of a stormtrooper standing in front of a shop bearing a sign 'don't buy from Jews'. I affixed a caption that read 'Boycotting Jewish Businesses: Berlin 1933 - Melbourne 2011'. I then trotted down to the nearest Officeworks and blew it up to placard size... After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words." Ted Lapkin, Zionist propagandist, ex-AIJAC (The community can't sit idly by, The Australian Jewish News, 29/7/11)

"I don't think in 21st-century Australia there is a place for the attempted boycott of a Jewish business... I thought we had learned that from history." Kevin Rudd, foreign minister (Israeli boycotts: ACCC called in, John Ferguson, The Australian, 8/8/11)

"[Michael] O'Brien [Victorian minister for consumer affairs] told The Australian it was unacceptable to single out any businesses but that it was especially concerning given the 20th-century history behind attacks on Jewish businesses." (ibid)

"It's a claim which has outraged many who see the campaign against the 24-store Max Brenner chocolate chain in this country as an ugly echo of the anti-Semitism of 1930s Germany when Jewish businesses were targeted." Cameron Stewart, churnalist (Targeted chocolatier 'a man of peace', The Australian, 13/8/11)

"We all recall what happened to the Jewish people in Germany prior to World War II with the first attacks on Jewish businesses. Jewish businesses were targeted, big 'Js' were written on the windows, and stormtroopers stood in front of the shops stopping anyone from entering to conduct business. This then escalated to physical attacks on the shops with windows smashed and so on." Fred Nile, Christian Democrat leader and God-botherer extraordinaire, addressing the NSW Upper House on BDS (jwire.com, 8/9/11)

"What are we going to see next? Will these people be daubing windows and breaking windows again?" Mike Kelly Labor MP for Eden-Monaro, co-leader of pitbull faction, addressing parliament (Government won't support PA at UN, The Australian Jewish News, 9/9/11)

"Liberal backbencher Josh Frydenberg has has renewed calls for the Greens to publicly condemn an international BDS campaign targeting the state of Israel. Speaking in parliament yesterday, the MP, who is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust, said the Israeli blockade was a 'dangerous development that must be countered at every turn." (Israel boycott 'driven by hatred', Lauren Wilson & Joe Kelly, The Australian, 13/9/11)

"'(The Senate) should not tolerate the boycotting of businesses because the ownership is Jewish', leader of the opposition in the Senate Eric Abetz said. 'We know enough about world history never to go down that track'." (Israeli boycott a low point for senators, SMH, 13/9/11)

"Members may not be aware that Australia has the honour of being home to the highest percentage of Holocaust survivors in a Jewish community outside israel. So it is understandable that there is a strong concern about BDS in Australia, especially in the Jewish community. They know first hand what can follow once businesses are singled out simply because they are owned by Jewish people. They know firsthand what happened in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s when businesses were identified as being Jewish. I am certain that those involved in the BDS protests would say such comparisons are unreasonable and hyperbole. But I disagree. The experience of history, repeatedly, is that this is where it starts. States do not slide into systemic racism overnight. Instead, liberties are traded off one at a time. I never thought I would see the day when a Jewish business was targeted in Australia, and that is what is occurring with the BDS." (NSW Labor MLC Walt Secord, Hansard, 15/9/11)

I haven't captured them all, but you've surely got the idea by now. Will add more such references as they crop up.