Onward Judeo-Christian Soldiers 2

"Another feature of the new philosemitism is the attempt to forge a German 'Judeo-Christian' identity... The bogus Judeo-Christian tradition does not correspond to any concrete history; it is an ideological invention invoked against Islam, in which the Jew plays the role of the imaginary other... [I]n a large part of Western Europe, the violence directed toward the Other hides itself behind this need for an Other who is like us. This is another effect of the reduction of the Nazi experience to remembrance of the Jewish genocide: this newly constructed past - the Jew as absolute victim - serves as a cover for a new Islamophobia that cannot but recall attitudes that Europe once had toward the Jews..." (Yitzhak Laor, The Myths of Liberal Zionism, 2009, pp 27-28)*

[*See my 30/1/10 post The Politics of Holocaust Memorial Day for the longer version.]

I've dealt with this particular ideological invention before, in Onward Judeo-Christian Soldiers (9/8/10)

Here it pops up in the heading of The Australian's Easter editorial: Hope & redemption at Easter: Judeo-Christian tradition has shaped a progressive culture (23/4/11).

And to illustrate Laor's contention that it has a clear sectarian agenda, consider this quote from the editorial:

"The commemoration of the Last Supper, Stations of the Cross and the Paschal fire lit outside darkened churches as the Vigil Mass of the Resurrection begins tonight are powerful reminders of what lies at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition... The Easter message inspires our forward-looking attitude to life, built on hope, that for 20 centuries has made enormous strides by encouraging our best endeavours to deliver progress. Backward-looking, repressive cultures fixated on past golden ages are not conducive to progress."